I had a request to start the food of the week thread on Fridays b/c so many of us grocery shop and meal plan on the weekends. Bring on the great ideas so we are prepared for a great week.
This week's food focus is ... CHICKEN!
We all eat it... we eat a lot of it. Because we eat so much of it - it can get boring after a while. Let's change things up.
How do you cook it?
What spices do you use?
What do you eat with it?
Can you share your favourite recipe?
One thing I have recently discovered (may be old hat to you all though) is Mrs. Dash CHICKEN seasoning! No salt and no MSG. It is really flavorful, and my whole family likes it! My mother, who is not on a diet, ate some chicken I made with it and was really impressed.
Also, I use the crockpot a LOT on chicken. Here are a few simple things I do:
1. Chicken breasts with one package of DRY Italian dressing sprinkled over top and 1 to 1-1/2 cups FF chicken broth added. Sometimes I add onion to this too. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high at least 4 hours.
2. Chicken breasts sprinkled with garlic. Place in crockpot and cover with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high at least 4 hours. This is really good served with a salad and a few reduced-fat corn tortilla chips sprinkled on top.
3. Sprinkle with above-mentioned Mrs. Dash Chicken seasoning along with poultry seasoning and garlic. Add mushrooms and onions. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high at least 4 hours.
I use chicken a LOT. These are just a few things off the top of my head that I thought of. Will post more later when I have more time.
I buy the 10 lb bag of frozen chicken breasts from BJ's for $20. I like them because they are individually frozen and already cleaned (for the most part) so I just take out how many I need and thaw them.
The easiest way for me to prepare chicken is on the Foreman grill. I have two favorite seasonings, and I believe they are both by McCormick - Montreal Chicken blend and Rotisserie blend. I just sprinkle one of these on the breasts and grill them for about 7 minutes. Pair it with a baked sweet potato or some brown rice and some veggies and you have a great meal.
I also like chicken stir fry. Here is a recipe that I love:
I eat boneless chicken breasts A LOT. I have tons of ideas and recipes. Just a few, if anyone wants more specific recipes, ask away:
Stir fries. I start off with a non stick pan sprayed with Pam. I add sliced onions and red peppers. Sautee that, then add tons of sliced mushrooms, zuchinni, broccoli, sometimes green beans, sometimes spinach. Then I push the veggies off to the side and add the chicken strips, browning them on both sides. Then I add a little chicken broth and some ginger and garlic and onion powder. Easy and SATISFYING.
I bake a spaghetti squash in the oven. I saute a bunch of sliced onions and mushrooms and then add cut up chicken strips, brown it. Add some marinara sauce and spices and then add the cooked spaghetti squash. Delicious.
2 thin slices reduced-fat swiss cheese (about 2 oz) 4 chicken cutlets (4 oz each) 2T flour 1/2t black pepper 1T reduced fat butter 1/2c reduced sodium chicken broth 1/4c dry white wine, or more reduced sodium chicken broth 1/4t dried oregano chopped fresh parsley and fresh oregano sprigs for garnish (optional)
1. Cut cheese slices in half. Place 1 half on top of each cutlet. Starting with a short end, tightly roll up cutlets, jelly-roll style. Tie with string, or secure with toothpick.
2. On waxed paper, combine flour and pepper. Mix well. Add cutlets, toss gently to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add cutlets; cook, turning frequently, until golden, about 3 minutes.
4. Add broth, wine and dried oregano to skillet. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce is slightly thickened, about 10-12 minutes. Place on a plate, remove string, and garnish with herbs.
Note: I don't use the string because I always forget to buy it. You can use a toothpick too.
I discovered this about a year ago.. (you may already know this) but for my casserole recipes I boiled my chicken first. Boiling the chicken gets rid of any extra fat and it makes it really really tender.
I buy natural chicken from goldn' plump. Raised with no antibiotics. Honestly, I can't taste the difference - but I've heard so many good things about it. I guess their marketing works.
I love chicken! I will have to get some recipes from home.
I find a healthy way to keep my chicken moist is Plain, non-flavored, yogurt. I dip Boneless skinless breasts in the plain yogurt and then dip the coated chicken into a seasoned breadcrumb mixture (add spices to taste).. then cook as desired. You can pan cook it or bake it and it stays nice and juicy.
I also love to do this with chicken strips. You can buy bags of chicken that are filled with precut little tender sized slices of chicken. I then dip in both and usually cook in a pan with a bit of oil. Or you can bake (whichever is your preferance.) I find kids AND adults love the homemade chicken strips.
We eat chicken a lot. I make it on the foreman, if it's breasts and I'm using it in a salad, stirfry, pasta, etc. It's amazing what the crunch on the outside makes to a dish.
I also will throw in an italian dressing packet or ranch dressing packet into the oven and bake chicken breasts that way.
Food of the week (March 12): chicken
